Amnesty International opened an office Tuesday in Nigeria ,promising to investigate allegations of abuses from oil pollution and forced evictions to charges of military killings of civilians in the fight against Boko Haram Islamic extremists .

“ From the relatives of the thousands killed and missing in northeast Nigeria to the thousands of villagers in the Niger Delta who cannot plant crops or drink clean water because of oil pollution , Amnesty International will stand in solidarity with all the people in Nigeria who face human rights violations and abuses , ” said the director of the office in Abuja, the capital, veteran Nigerian career diplomat M. K . Ibrahim.

Nigeria ’s new government invited the London-based human rights group into the country , Ibrahim told the AP , after its report accusing Nigeria ’s military of killing some 800 civilian detainees by shooting, torture , starvation and suffocation . Amnesty named five senior officers it said should be tried for war crimes in its March report.

The Associated Press has reported the deaths of some 3, 000 people in military detention within a matter of months in 2013 , and the shootings of hundreds of unarmed detainees freed from a barracks in northeastern Maiduguri in a Boko Haram attack last year

Amnesty had a combative relationship with the previous Nigerian government,headed by Goodluck Jonathan,which denied allegations of gross military abuses .

But Buhari , who won elections that brought the West African oil
producer its first democratic change of government , has promised to investigate the charges. Buhari told Amnesty that the investigation can start only after the appointment of a justice minister and attorney general, expected in coming weeks , said Ibrahim.

One of Buhari ’ s first acts after his May 30 inauguration was to fire all the military chiefs.

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About beegeagle

BEEG EAGLE -perspectives of an opinionated Nigerian male with a keen interest in Geopolitics, Defence and Strategic Studies

Good move as a strategist, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Its easier to stop their propaganda this way. They will leave after they are shamed when they’ve discovered their barefaced lies are baseless accusations.

please don’t have a bad feeling about it. It is good for the professionalism of the armed forces. Apart from Boko Haram, there is a lot of crude theft and illegal refineries going on in the Niger Delta, there was a nascent militant camp starting up in Calabar area, there is Massob with a paragraph military element underground.
In reacting to these centrifugal forces, the Nigerian Armed forces have to grow up, destroy those entities completely with minimal damage to civilians and without abusing human rights of the weak and helpless including especially young women. Things always look different when it is happening to other people but we all know every region in Nigeria has a tendency to milltancy and these tendencies are mainly actualized by young men between 12 and 45. The people who feel the brunt of the security forces again – kids and young women.

The fact that the Chinese or Russian does not give a shit about such things is not a commendable thing even though in our frustration we have carpeted the US and UK many times for AI activities.
Let us think holistically and ask ourselves who is enobled when we respect human rights and the dignity of man even in intra-national low intensity conflicts. Is it the American who is reading it on his smart phone or the black brother or sister?

“In reacting to these centrifugal forces, the Nigerian Armed forces have to grow up, destroy those entities completely with minimal damage to civilians and without abusing human rights of the weak and helpless including especially young ”

In an existential war, which army has ever achieved this?

Have you ever asked yourself, how will the US fight a war that threatens it’s existence?

Amnesty International, HRW are just control mechanisms, used as levers to control weaker nations.

I do not expect ANY significant weapons transactions with any Western country. The only plausible reason why this administration hasnt told them to ‘sod off’, is because the country has a lot of money buried in all sorts of places. Nigeria needs the cooperation of the West for that.

Offices in Nigeria? so they didn’t have offices in Nigeria before their many recent emotional publications; hehehe.
Nigeria is a free country oh, abeg, we are all delighted and we surely welcome them with open arms, let them open offices please, as many as they wish, that will translate to more jobs for Nigerians first and foremost, and whenever they have solid evidence of wrong doings, they will be compelled to prosecute and not just right fancy, emotional publications, or what other choice would they have;
And, Amnesty, if you think your aim of trying to focus on the military alone will be achieved in the long run, hahaha, you are sorely mistaken unless you rename yourself to Amnesty Military International, as Nigerians will show you the true meaning of dedication and tenacity; soon and very soon, you will be confronted by Nigerians wanting you to investigate land issues, baby factories, kidnappings, religious strive, farmers vs grazers, issues, among the myriad of Nigerian issues.
When, after investigation, you find said evidence, Amnesty’ll have to take them to Nigerian courts and dook it out; Lord knows we need all the help we can get to fast-track the reformations going on in the judiciary, but in the mean time, you’ll have to join the queue and work with Nigerians to ensure said reforms.
So, all in all, Amnesty International, welcome to Nigeria, the home of freedom and liberty.

and to the issue of AI being invited to setup in nigeria it is good pro active move,
it will even the playing field and nigeria will have a handle on things being reported/misreported by AI.
there are many ways things can be managed both by covert / managed means.
if u want to tame a wild horse first u got to correl the horse hehehe

expulsions are always the last resort
because ur enemies and media will look for such incidents to harm u.
but backroom dealings r something which is more subtle and effective and no third party country / media will be denied the ammo to lambast u.
also there is the additional case of pausible deniability.
having the staff of AI or alteast some of it in ur pockets via any means ahem!!! 😀 should do the trick.
eg
1.bug the offices of AI so that u know beforehand everything going inside so that u can preemptive any moves by AI.
2.u can restrict / influence journalist employed by AI to present a view favorable to government.
3.psy ops to counter AI journalist / people (on enemy payrolls) dentrimental to govt. stand
i am a great fan of the STASI PSY OPS they perfected it something even KGB , CIA accepts.(i dont like STASI by the way)
i am 100% sure this decision was proposed and backed the intelligence agencies.
a good move.
u have to read case files or have to have access to intelligence works/ops to understand the importance of subtle / indirect actions on preempting soft targets such as NGO, media , international agencies.

do u know u dont even need to bug the offices to evesdrop on conversation, because such devices r active not passive devices and can be identified/detected by bug sweeper/scanners.
u can employ laser evesdropping device just aim it at the windows,it detects the subtle vibrations of the window panels caused by coversations due to sound waves and sends it back, the changes in the reflected laser beam is analysed and converted into sound waves for listening.
see easy pesy

by the way ur also corect only i am saying what u propsed should be the last resort,
why stirr up a hornets nest when things can be managed without any body being wiser.
regards

“In reacting to these centrifugal forces, the Nigerian Armed forces have to grow up, destroy those entities completely with minimal damage to civilians and without abusing human rights of the weak and helpless including especially young women. ”
I agree completely with AREJAMES,the Nigerian Armed Forces especially the Nigerian Army needs to grow up and be very professional, Frankly speaking it is irrelevant if AI SETS UP THEIR HQ in Sambisa forests
This is what is important:
The COAS has on at least two specific occasions dedicated two of his speeches to the issue of Human Rights and the respect for Civilians, as the former head of Nigeria’s coin operations he should know it is easier to glean information out of people if 1) they are alive ,2) if they see the NA as a professional force. the photograph of a Soldier tying the shoes of a girl in IDP camp in Sokoto went VIRAL
T he GOC of the 81 div ( Lagos) has said he will personally deal with Soldiers who beat Civilians
The FOC of the Eastern Command has warned Naval personnel about human rights abuses
More importantly a lot of Military grade intel is coming from the IDP camps by Men and Women and Children who were harshly treated by BH as recently as last week a detailed letter was sent , signed by the people in an IDP camp detailing all Hideouts in the Gwoza area.
No army/ Navy/ Airforce retains it’s professionalism by being neglecting the fundamental right of other Human beings
Finally let us not forget the Nigerian Human rights organization has been in Nigeria and on the ground – and on occasion with it’s credibility repudiated AI

http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/10/photos-army-arrest-boko-haram-fuel.html#more
The NA has reclaimed one it’s LANDCRUISERS taken during the GEIDAM attack it is noteworthy how it was reclaimed they not only ambushed the BH SAVAGES but got it back intact,This means these guys were caught napping SF ? regular old infantry on proactive patrols? well done fellas.
One of the pictures shows the Collaborator with POLYTHENE Bags carrying petrol,, I have seen other pictures posted by Bidexii , I am not yet willing to say certain things but evidence is beginning to mount that bh is struggling logistics wise in terms of equipment.
The Tri -services chiefs must focus on capturing / killing the remainder of the Shura council of bh
for this war to end in Dec

@are james since u asked……
as always i will say indian defence media reporting sucks, in both technical profiency and common sense always playing to foreign arms dealers.
stupid times of india newspaper u referred once reported mig 29 as su 30. lolzz

let me correct the stupid article qouting nameless “top Indian defence officials” lolzzz
1.IAF will buy only an additional 86 LCA MK1A, these being the IAF-customised version of LCA (Navy) MK1. This is in addition to the 40 Tejas MK1s already on order.because when the NP-2 prototype of LCA MK1 (Navy) with LEVCONS became available for flight-testing, It quickly became evident that the NP-2 was not only more agile than the Tejas MK1(airforce) version, but could also host additional internal volume for additional critical mission avionics.
2.The Tejas MK2 is still in the initial stages of design & the first prototype won’t surface till late 2018 or first quarter of 2019. If the Tejas MK2 successfully completes its flight certification tests, then up to 120 of them will be ordered for the airforce excluding the naval requirements. let the stupid times of india explain why is the more powerful F-414INS6 engines being delivered , to cook their asses? or to power up the LCA MK2 (AF & NAVY)?
3.The DUMB and BLIND newspaper mentions that the LCA MK1 still has to “undergo 43 improvements”. he does not even know that 45 of these deficiencies are already sorted out as per IAf chief’s comments in the recent press conference.
now i seriously want to wack the reporter .
4.the urgency for LCA MK1A is due to decomissioning of hundereds of MIG 21, MIG27 in the next 2-3 years, since the LCA MK2 will not be ready till then, therefore the LCAMK1A is being pushed.
additional benefit is that when the LCA MK2 comes online the LCA MK1A (trainer version)will step / be converted into the role of supersonic LIFTs for lead-in fighter training.

now plz dont give serious thoughts to indian newspapers for defence news.
they r sometimes too jignoistic or sometimes too dumb as to shame a dodo in stupidity.

i would rate Sierra Leone media over indian media any time.
indian media sucks big big big time in almost every thing.
take my word for it.
u should be happy with nigerian media, they r way ahead.

AFAIK respect for any fighter plane comes from the no of kills made by it in air combat, not by any news report , jignoistic keyboard warriors , manufacturers claims.
at best we all can discuss technical details but arriving at a conclusion is going to be elusive because of propoganda/ misinformation and lack of actual data from independent verifiable sources.

The Nigeria Army as a matter of national priority needs to now force Boko Haram out of the country, and shut the door behind them by sealing that border. We now have French Troops in Chad and US troops in Cameroon. What gives?

2. On the AI getting an office in Nigeria, haven’t they always been in Nigeria? May be the government is giving them some special recognition this time around. I hope the government will locate them in the heart of actions in the NE so that they have a first hand experience of events in that region 🙂

On another note, I was actually in a discussion with a friend today and he told me there are about 120 short-term training teams and British Military Advisory and Training Team personnels on ground in Nigeria. I only knew of about a 20 man strong BMATT team that was sent last autumn, I never knew the number has increased (the benefit of real time info/intel seems to end with service, poor me! 😦 ) It’s surprising that this has not been in the news and is not on many lips here, not even in the service. Well, I suppose having this number on ground is a very positive sign and hopefully, a medium term engagement with BMATT would benefit NA a lot.

Apparently the greatest threat of advancing troops has been IEDs on paths leading towards boko haram enclaves. The use of line charges where possible like that fired can clear areas faster once identified than digging in and waiting for EOD teams.

OGA OLA
you need to put the remote CONTROL down and stop watching all those Soccer games.http://pulse.ng/local/in-nigeria-british-soldiers-visit-defence-headquarters-photos-id4052340.html
This when as the Native Americans would say they put pen to paper.The UK GOVT was loath to do anything worthwhile with the GEJ administration , once the new service chiefs assumed office the visits began both in the open and in private.
This is my humble opinion and I am basing it on cold- hearted logic
The British Military has signed three different types of Agreements with the Nigerian Military
1) Short Term is the 1-8 weeks training courses you referred to
2) Medium term this was performance based and thus it involved the visit of the CDS coming to Nigeria this will in my estimate be at least 1 year Battalion to Brigade level
3) Long term is 2 -4 years this will be Brigade- Division level, will also involve after BH, will also involve Long term strategic goals of the Nigerian Army with coin operations/ coin divisions.
It should be noted there does seem to be some real chemistry between PMB and PDC, this helps to smooth the rough edges of both,

Mr. Jimmy, you crack me up! 🙂 You call infantry/mechanised exercise a soccer game? lol. Actually, what I was thinking when I posted the videos was this “this is the kind of joint exercise/training US should have been doing with Nigeria” You see the seamless integration of different equipment there. We do something similar in the UK actually, known as BATUS course, it’s done at the UK BATUS facility in Canada.
On training, if whispers are anything to go by, the UK is more interested in a medium-long term training/military partnership than an STT in Nigeria, but everything regarding the arrangement is still fluid, even if the press presents a solid picture of things. Also, the BMATT team has actually been prepared and activated since 2014 autumn, I suspect they came in trickles though. The UK is fully committed to it, but if Nigeria plays up, they will pull out. Hopefully, we can see a BMATT partnership dipped in mutual respect and spanning 3-5 years come out of this. My guess is that the UK instructors will relocate back home within the next 365 days and continue to work remotely with Nigerian instructors who have benefited from the UK training in Nigeria and those who would go for courses in the UK. If rumours are anything to go by, the goal of the UK is to help bring back the Nigerian army infantry man, battle conditioned and disciplined. Secondly, the UK will work with Nigeria to help Nigeria consolidate on all the SF training that Nigeria has received from a number of countries. If all goes well, your dream of an SAS styled unit will come to reality, the UK knows Nigeria wants this 🙂

@ oga RKA
You are correct in your assessment, Neither Country can now seal the Border, it is no longer a secret Nigeria and Cameroon conduct joint patrols, in fact bh to punish Cameroon has tried to conduct more revenge suicide attacks .
Nigeria should not worry to much about 300 American troops based in Cameroon it is an Implicit acknowledgment of what the Nigerians told both the 1)Americans and the rest of the World:When we (Nigeria) get our act together bh will seek shelter in two countries : Chad and Cameroon, both Countries are going to need help.
2) Nigeria from time to time supplies Chad ” with LOGISTICS ” this is also an open secret”
3) Unlike before Nigeria and the US cooperate more extensively than both countries will acknowledge let just say no one is appearing on CNN anytime soon and there will be no quotes from an Angry Nigerian officer being quoted ANONYMOUSLY in the papers

Where were American troops when Cameroon begged Chad to send help with thousands of soldiers and armoured vehicles at the time Boko Haram battles were hottest and peak level with heavy casualties on Nigerian army, Chadian army, Nigerien army, and Cameroonian army?

USA, UK, NATO, EU….they are glory thieves who like to send in troops into African wars when the war is surely almost ended, and they will rewrite history books, broadcast it on VOA and BBC for the whole world to hear, that the African war ended only after American and British military arrived in the battle theatre.

…The FG is making it’s gravest mistake by inviting amnesty to open offices and investigate the Nigerian army.
Even the so-called “moral-compass” of the world- America has not accepted MSF’s request to an independent investigation of the U.S forces following the bombing of MSF-Doctors without Borders’s hospital in KUNDUZ by the american air force.
Buhari is making a grave mistake if he thinks any good can come out of this myopic move.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when those hypocrites are finished with messing up and disgracing Nigeria.
Na then we go hear “had-i-known” from our incompetent policy makers…

Suddenly, everyone who spat on us just yesterday is visiting and setting up bases in neighbouring countries, including Amnesty International.

We are sleepwalking.

Amnesty International didn’t need deep roots in the country to make up the false stories that were used to beat Nigeria in the foreign media, even in the midst of a battle against terrorism.
The ineptitude that is currently giving them a base to take on wide ranging “human rights investigation” across Nigeria will turn out to be our ruin. Lets watch as they become the “authorities” on events on the ground in Nigeria, especially nebulous “human rights abuses”.

Already, Amnesty International has expanded the scope of their “investigations” from human rights abuses against boko haram to include “the thousands of villagers in the Niger Delta who cannot plant crops or drink clean water because of oil pollution , Amnesty International will stand in solidarity with all the people in Nigeria who face human rights violations and abuses”.
They will soon include Biafra, the atrocities of nomadic Fulani cattle rearers, minority rights etc. Before you know it, we will have a Nigerian Spring, followed by unspeakable stories of societal disaster and human tragedy.

Building our country should not be a “we and them” thing, if we cannot repair our inequalities ourselves, they will become weapons in the hands of those up to no good. Yet, there are people who defend this dangerous attitude of inviting in Nigeria’s detractors with the chilling retort that the West would never have had anything to do with the last government. When did we get into a “we and them” competition for the Wests attention? More than anything, such a stance is a dangerous exhibition of low self-esteem and desperation to get one over the “other side” that they hate so much. Its a hatred so great that any tool, including self-destructive subservience to foreigners becomes valid. My Oga’s, every step in the wrong direction only further degrades our already fragile national unity. It is not as if the West runs its foreign policy on the same hatreds and bigotries that have driven Nigeria to its current low point. We need unity as the basis for a strong country.

Let us think about it. Why Nigeria? Doesn’t Amnesty International know the road to Yemen where proper human rights abuses are ongoing? Have they not heard about Syria, Libya, Bahrain, Iraq, North Korea etc. Have they set up offices in dictator led Chad and Cameroon like the US and French armies have, or are they not just the soft army to conquer Nigeria from within using our foolish “we and them” divisions?